from the book The Last Confederate General by Larry Gordon

John C Vaughn and 17 other Monroe County men, including his brother Jack (Andrew Jackson Vaughn) departed from Blair's Ferry 15 Apr 1850 on the steamboat Ellen White. They boarded a flatboat in Decatur, Alabama and on the 25th of April arrived in New Orleans. The group then boarded the schooner Charran to sail the Gulf of Mexico, finally arriving a the Chagres River. For the sum of $13 each they were taken 60 miles by dugout canoe to the village of Gorgano, then by mule train about 25 miles to Panama City, arriving on the 29th of May. The group then paid $150 each and boarded the French sailing ship Cachalot, which departed on June 5, 1850. After a journey which included being off course by hundreds of miles, even stopping in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) for water, the group reached the port of San Francisco on August 12, 1850. After spending lots of money and finding no fortune, many of the group returned to Monroe County.

paraphrased by Thomas Earnest Robinson, 22 Aug 2013